World War 1 ANZAC Project
A guide to assist Year 9 Humanities students investigate the life and service of a Guildford Grammar School ANZAC and explore the broader social and economic impacts of World War I.
Tactics
- Department of Veterans' Affairs. (2023). Tactics in warfare during World War I. https://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/wars-and-missions/ww1/military-organisation/tactics-in-warfareWorld War I carries a reputation as a pointless bloodbath. This conjures up images of unimaginative military operations. Mass infantry charging senselessly into machinegun fire. Despite these views, the war sparked a revolution in military tactics and technologies. Pre-war tactics became obsolete with the introduction of automated weapons, tanks and aircraft. Visionary combined arms tactics, as used at the Battle of Hamel, changed warfare forever.
- Ward, M. (2021, March 30). A very different war. https://www.awm.gov.au/wartime/44/page42_wardIt took several years of changing technology and tactics to place the Western allies in a position to win the war.
- Australian War Memorial. (2021, January 28). 1918: Trench warfare - Hell on Earth. https://www.awm.gov.au/visit/exhibitions/1918/battles/trenchwarfareAlthough there had been some trench warfare in the American Civil War of 1861 - 65, and the Russian-Japanese War of 1904 - 05, it wasn't until the First World War that fixed trench warfare became the standard form of fighting.
- National WWI Museum and Memorial. (2025). Trench warfare. https://www.theworldwar.org/learn/about-wwi/trench-warfareAfter the early war of movement in the late summer of 1914, artillery and machine guns forced the armies on the Western Front to dig trenches to protect themselves.
- Virtual War Memorial Australia. (n.d.). Peaceful penetration - low-cost, high-gain tactics on the Western Front. https://vwma.org.au/explore/campaigns/31'Peaceful Penetration' was a term applied to Australian infantry tactics used in the period April to August 1918 (although it was also used by the New Zealanders). The term is attributed by Bean to a term coined pre-war to German encroachment of the British Empire. The tactics were a cross between trench raiding and patrolling.
- Australian Army Museum of Western Australia. (n.d.). Trench raider club - 1917. https://collectionswa.net.au/items/c1c5aa47-f339-43bf-a935-b02fe81aaf24Trench raiders were lightly equipped for stealthy, unimpeded movement.
Anzac Special: Life In the Trenches
Behind the News. (2015, April 27). Anzac special: Life in the trenches - Behind the News [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHx_uwdGtao
Life in the Trenches WW1
Imperial War Museums. (2020, September 30). Life in the trenches WW1 | Trench warfare explained [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9E7xYLv8N2E
Technology and Equipment
- Department of Veterans' Affairs. (2021, April 13). Technology and equipment developed during World War I. https://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/wars-and-missions/ww1/military-organisation/technology-and-equipmentThe war drove scientific and technological initiative on an unprecedented scale. Innovation on both sides created more destructive and effective weapons. Communications, medicine and transportation were also advanced. But not all inventions achieved their intended goals.
- Australian War Memorial. (2021, January 28). Technology, weaponry and communications in 1918. https://www.awm.gov.au/visit/exhibitions/1918/technologyThe First World War was said to be the first truly technological war. Many ideas were pioneered over the four years, such as the use of tanks, and new systems of communication.
- Johnson, J. (2016, September 1). Science and thttps://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/science-and-technology/echnology.Wartime science and technology developed in the context of the Second Industrial Revolution, with far-reaching consequences for national and international scientific institutions and social structures.
Chemical Warfare
Simple History. (2017, January 3). First World War tech: Chlorine gas & gas masks [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmir6SxYNII
Tanks
The Tank Museum. (2024, March 16). Birth of the tank - Armoured warfare in WWI [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fthwKUbRyuk
Tech Developments of World War I
History. (2014, May 22). Tech Developments of World War I | History [Video]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7v3cq1ZJjM